Thomas Bangalter
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| Thomas Bangalter | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Born | January 3, 1975 (age 32) | |
| Origin | Paris, France | |
| Genre(s) | French house | |
| Years active | 1992-present | |
| Label(s) | Roulé | |
| Associated acts |
Darlin' Daft Punk Stardust Together |
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Thomas Bangalter (born 3 January 1975)[1] is a French electronic musician and founding member (along with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) of the French house music duo Daft Punk. He has also produced music for the Stardust project and for the film Irréversible. Bangalter has also teamed up with DJ Falcon under the name Together and released two tracks: "Together" and "So Much Love to Give". His music is sometimes known as French house.
Thomas Bangalter owns a music label called Roulé. Outside of music production, his credits include film director and cinematographer. Bangalter is the father of a son, Tara-Jay and resides in Beverly Hills, California, with his wife, French actress Élodie Bouchez.[2][3]
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[edit] Biography
Thomas Bangalter began playing the piano at the age of five.[4] Bangalter stated in a video interview that his parents were strict in keeping up his practice, for which he later thanked them. His father, Daniel Vangarde was a famous songwriter and producer for such performers as the Gibson Brothers, Ottawan, and Sheila B. Devotion.[5] As expressed by Bangalter, "I never had any intention to do what my father was doing."[2]
Bangalter met Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo while attending school in 1987.[1] It was there that they discovered their mutual fascination of films and music of the 1960s and 70s, "very basic cult teenager things, from Easy Rider to the Velvet Underground."[6] They and Laurent Brancowitz eventually joined to form an indie rock trio called Darlin', in which Bangalter performed bass guitar. Bangalter felt that "It was still maybe more a teenage thing at that time. It's like, you know, everybody wants to be in a band."[6] A negative review referred to the act as "a bunch of daft punk", which inspired Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's new name.[7]
Shortly before reaching the age of 18, Daft Punk grew interested in electronic music, which led Brancowitz to leave the group in pursuit of efforts with fellow Parisian band Phoenix.[6][7] In 1993 Bangalter presented a demo of Daft Punk material to Stuart Macmillan of Slam that led to their first single "The New Wave". Daniel Vangarde provided valuable advice for the duo. "He helped us by presenting to us what the situation was with the record industry and how it worked. Knowing that, we made certain choices in order to achieve what we wanted."[8]
Vangarde was thanked for his efforts in the liner notes of Homework. The title of the album is partially attributed to the fact that Homework was recorded in Bangalter's bedroom. As he remarked, "I had to move the bed into another room to make space for the gear."[5] In the years following the 1997 release, Bangalter focused on his own record label, Roulé. The label released singles by Romanthony, Roy Davis Jr., and Bangalter's own solo material, among others. Bangalter collaborated with Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond and in 1998 released the club hit "Music Sounds Better With You". Just as for Homework, the single was recorded in Bangalter's home studio.[9][5]
During the same year, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo collaborated with Romanthony in what would become the first of the Discovery sessions.[1] One of tracks produced, "One More Time" became Daft Punk's most successful single in 2000. Bangalter also performed on a Yamaha Cs-60 synthesizer in Phoenix's debut album United, which was released the same year.[10] In 2002, Bangalter fathered a son with actress Élodie Bouchez.[3]
[edit] Selected discography
[edit] Albums
- Irréversible (2002)
[edit] EPs and singles
- "Trax on Da Rocks" (1995)
- "Spinal Scratch" (1996)
- "Trax on Da Rocks Vol. 2" (1998)
- "Outrage" (2003)
Note: Tracks from "Trax on Da Rocks" ("Outrun", "Turbo") and "Trax on Da Rocks Vol. 2" ("Extra Dry") appeared in the 2003 video game Midnight Club II.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Daft Punk Musique Vol. 1 Official Website. Archived from April 10, 2006.
- ^ a b Suzanne Ely, "Return of the Cybermen" Mixmag (July 2006)
- ^ a b Thomas Bangalter at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ Michael Hamersly, "Ask the DJ" Miami Herald (November 10, 2006).
- ^ a b c Chris Gill, "ROBOPOP" Remix Magazine Online (May 2001)
- ^ a b c Matthew Collin, "Do You Think You Can Hide From Stardom?" Mixmag (August 1997) (archived at techno.de)
- ^ a b Darlin' biography at Discogs. Retrieved on February 20, 2007.
- ^ Alan Di Perna, "We Are The Robots" Pulse! (April 2001).
- ^ Music Sounds Better With You at Discogs
- ^ United at Discogs. Retrieved on April 7, 2007
[edit] External links
| Daft Punk |
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| Thomas Bangalter • Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Albums: Homework • Discovery • Alive 1997 • Daft Club • Human After All • Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 Singles: "The New Wave" • "Da Funk" • "Around the World" • "Burnin'" • "Revolution 909" • "One More Time" • "Aerodynamic" • "Digital Love" • "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" • "Robot Rock" • "Technologic" • "Human After All" • "The Prime Time of Your Life" Film and VHS/DVD: D.A.F.T. • Interstella 5555 • Electroma |
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